Integration in Ireland

The everyday lives of African migrants

Mark Maguire, Fiona Murphy

• Publisher: Manchester University Press
• Year: 2015
• Print ISBN: 9780719097423
• eBook ISBN: 9781784992019
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Economics
• Subtopic: Political Economy
• Index: Economics

This book draws on several years of ethnographic research with African migrants in Ireland, many of whom are former asylum seekers and goes on to aruge that migrants are themselves shaping integration in their everyday lives in the face of enormous challenges.

1

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Taxis, deregulation and racism in Irish border towns

Some of them will look at you and open your door, but they don’t intend to come into your taxi – they just want to leave a word or two with you, to annoy you, and then slam your door. ‘Is it not enough for you to just pass me by and go and pick whoever you want to pick?’ But they still want to leave words with you, saying ‘f’ words to your country, ‘You are not welcome here!’ It can be very painful, very frustrating, but the best we can do is to develop a strong mind: don’t allow yourself to be pulled down; don’t allow yourself to be discouraged. Telling yourself that you should expect this is not easy. Within ourselves we are trying to find an excuse for them, trying to justify their ill-treatment of us. These are the excuses: ‘They never went out of this country, never met with this kind of intrusion of foreigners, so just give them some time and they will get used to it.’ […] It is not everyone that can take this, find the strength, or try to answer this, so many black taxi drivers come into the industry and then leave … and go back on the dole. And these are the same people who accuse foreigners of coming here and grabbing the dole? They’re talking about integration but never giving the room to integrate. […] We have a saying in our language that means, ‘Don’t mind them. They think we’re here to drive this for the rest of our lives.’ So we try to use that as a consolation. Take it, take it for a while. So, we say to them – to ourselves, not directly to them – ‘We met them here, and we’ll leave them there.’ (Taxi driver, interview, 2010)

When in Rome

On 21 September 2009, the County Louth-based radio station LMFM hosted a live debate on tensions in the taxi industry in Drogheda. Kevin Faulkner, representing the Drogheda Taxi Drivers’ Association, alleged that his organisation was receiving complaints about foreign-born drivers who were not proficient in English and were unfamiliar with the geography of local neighbourhoods. Faulkner went on to say that those complaints could not be followed up because many such drivers claimed that their photographic identification had been lost or stolen, adding, ‘They all look much the same to the general public’ (McBride 2009: 25). His comments provoked a strong reaction, and the next day LMFM’s Michael Reade Show returned to the controversy. The following is an edited transcript of the exchange that took place between Kevin Faulkner, Michael Reade and Fiona, a driver whose African husband also operates a taxi:

KEVIN FAULKNER: People have the right to choose who they want to travel with … There’s no first-car system enforced by the taxi regulator on any taxi rank.… Ninety-five per cent of people on that taxi rank are being compliant and that includes blacks and whites, or Africans and whites, whichever they like to be called.… I have no problem with them, but when in Rome do as the Romans.¹ […] The public have a problem identifying the Africans in a taxi, because all they see is a head, and a shaved head at that, or a lady’s head, so they cannot identify them.… They are just going to have to grow up and face the situation that people have the right to chose. […] There are a good number of cars out there that are not to a certain standard, and I don’t want to go into it, because if I go into it I’ll be called a racist.… Let people judge for themselves what the cars look like, or what they’re like when they get into them, or who’s driving them. […] The minute an enforcement officer appears in Drogheda all of the African drivers are gone off the rank, disappeared, gone! …

MICHAEL READE: Is it necessary when you’re talking about the problems to mention what colour skin people have, Kevin?

KEVIN FAULKNER: Yes, Michael.

MICHAEL READE: Why is it necessary to say if they’re black or not?

KEVIN FAULKNER: Well, how do you want me to define the driver who has the problem?

MICHAEL READE: But you’ve told us that it’s not just the black drivers that have problems.

KEVIN FAULKNER: Yeah, I said there are problems with Irish and Africans, with both.

FIONA: So why are you picking on the Africans?

KEVIN FAULKNER: Because the Africans are not complying – across the board they’re not compliant. Most of my complaints are about Africans, I’m sorry to have to say.

MICHAEL READE: So the majority of your complaints are about Africans?

KEVIN FAULKNER: About the Africans, that’s correct. Be they from the public or from another taxi man who is sitting behind an African taxi driver who hasn’t his tamper proof stickers, or who hasn’t got his photo ID up – he is not complying and he is taking money off that taxi rank that somebody else could be earning.… I’m sorry Michael, but that’s where the problem lies. It lies with the African drivers. As I said already, when in Rome do as the Romans do.… People have the right to choose, and if they wish to assess the taxi before they get into it that’s their right. And, until the taxi regulator changes that then it stays as is. (LMFM Podcast, 22 September 2009)

The flames fanned by this exchange spread in the form of a dramatic protest the following day. A large number of drivers assembled outside the LMFM station and a heated debate ensued, which was recorded live from the car park. One driver took the opportunity to challenge claims that African drivers were overcharging, pointing out that industry regulations demand that fare meters be used and, as a consequence, many people were interpreting being charged the exact fare as overcharging. In reply, Kevin Faulkner agreed that the meter should be used, but added that passengers frequently negotiated informal fares with ‘local’ drivers. He claimed that drivers were switching on the meters but still accepted a pre-negotiated price at the end of the journey. ‘If the meter is on then the enforcement officer is happy,’ he stated.

As the live debate continued, the LMFM roving microphone picked up a number of increasingly abrupt comments. Tensions rose when one African driver claimed that the focus on meter regulations and photo identification was a superficial attempt to avoid the underlying problem of racism. Those African drivers who commented turned to the ad hoc operation of taxi ranks, where no system of queuing obtained, even informally.² Other drivers pointed to their local connections with customers and supported their ‘free choice.’ Several drivers also claimed that they were abused and called ‘white trash’ by African taxi operators.

Yinka, the African-Irish activist whose campaign for local office as a Green Party candidate is discussed in a later chapter, joined the protest in the LMFM car park. She was careful to move away from issues of colour and went as far as to argue that racism has yet to become a societal problem in Ireland. Nigerians especially, according to Yinka, operate an informal self-regulation system, and if anyone is known to be overcharging customers, ‘We all pull that person out; we have ways of isolating the person.’ The problem, she argued, is systemic and has been festering for many years. But, despite her intervention, the comments shouted at the microphone identified racism as the core issue. Kevin Faulkner attempted to bring together the main points in dispute and, agreeing with Yinka, drew attention to the broader structure of the taxi industry:

KEVIN FAULKNER: The problem we have here – and Yinka said it right when she said it has been festering for a number of years – is there’s the oversupply of taxis. People are finding it harder to make a living, be they black or white they’re earning pittance. And the taxi regulator has caused this. And we’re left to try and sort this problem here.

[Following other comments] This is all about reduction in fares. When I get complaints about Africans overcharging they’re really not overcharging. They hit customers for everything on the meter. […] When they get to the destination and its ten euros, well if it’s an Irish driver he’d say, ‘Give me six.’ (LMFM Podcast, 23 September 2009 [our interpolation])

But Faulkner’s even-handed comments did little to conciliate the angry drivers in the car park. The last word went to a ‘local’ driver:

MICHAEL READE: Why should the queue system not change?

DRIVER: Why should it change? WHY SHOULD IT? There never was a first in the queue. The customer always had the option to go and get whoever they wanted, right? So it’s only since these people here came on that they want to change what we’ve always had. If we went to Nigeria would they change the rules for us? No! So why should we do it for them? [Loud applause] (LMFM Podcast, 23 September 2009 [our interpolation])

The events surrounding the LMFM programmes were dramatic and captured local and national media attention. However, this was not the first time that issues of deregulation and racism came together in the Irish taxi industry. Six months earlier, taxi drivers engaged in a twenty-four hour strike over conditions within the industry and the refusal of the Commission for Taxi Regulation to place a limit on the number of licences. Drivers interviewed for TV3’s evening news programme claimed that three of their number had committed suicide in Cork during 2009 because of work pressures. During an interview, Derry Coughlan, the chair of the Cork Taximen’s Association, informed the news presenter that his association ‘can only take in local Cork men’ and their constitution did not allow ‘non-nationals’ to become members (English 2009). While he was careful in a subsequent newspaper interview to note that their constitution was open to change, Coughlan argued that most ‘black’ drivers were ‘too new to our shores’ and were untrained, adding, ‘We are like a football club. You wouldn’t take in a fella who can’t play football’ (English 2009). And to this day tensions continue to be recorded in many parts of Ireland (NCCRI 2007; Nee 2009; Gartland 2010; MRCI 2010).

During the weeks that followed the media frenzy over the LMFM radio programmes, An Garda Síochána (the police) attempted to crack down on unlicensed taxi drivers in County Louth. During this emotionally charged period, Fiona Murphy was invited to accompany Yinka to a meeting of African taxi drivers. The meeting was held in the downstairs room of an African food store. The room was clearly a domestic space, complete with a bed, kitchenette and a painting of a couple dancing next to the Eiffel Tower. The loud and angry voices of at least twenty African taxi drivers made the atmosphere in the make-shift bedsit claustrophobic and somewhat threatening. Yinka was warmly welcomed, and Fiona Murphy was introduced as a researcher who would be taking notes. Fear was the keyword. Drivers spoke of being worried about the possible consequences of telling their stories to the media and were fearful that bringing attention to their difficult circumstances would hamper citizenship claims. They feared for their children – would ‘locals’ seek revenge for perceived slights by attacking their children? There was also the more abstract fear of never being accepted, of always being an outsider.

‘The problem on the taxi ranks is also the problem in the town at large,’ said a driver at the back of the room to muttered words of agreement. The driver’s statement was followed by a series of crestfallen comments about belonging and acceptance. ‘Our children are Irish, mine are and yours are, and so we need to address the wider question of racism in the town,’ a female taxi driver pointed out. Yinka called for positive actions to be taken: ‘We can have a meeting with the Mayor, but I don’t want to say there is racism in this town, because I am a community leader. Perhaps this would be better coming from you. You need to say what is in your heart,’ she said. ‘They say our cars are dirty, they say we rape, we kidnap,’ said a driver angrily. His statement provoked irate comments, and fragments of experiences of racism, abuse and shame were recalled. ‘Go home you filthy Nigger, I was told,’ said one driver. ‘I was attacked by a passenger and the Gardai didn’t do anything,’ alleged another man. Drivers recalled false accusations of overcharging in comments shouted from different parts of the room: ‘This is not the price, I am not going to pay you, you black bastard,’ and, ‘You blacks rob and steal – go home!’

The drivers asked Yinka to attend the meeting in order to seek her advice, but she quickly took on the role of moderator, keeping the discussions on track and going as far as to ask Fiona Murphy to make a list of the key issues, which would then be brought before the Mayor. The list Fiona compiled included experiences of racism, perceptions of overcharging by African taxi drivers, queue jumping, accusations about the quality of the drivers’ cars, and personation (the claim that all African taxi drivers look the same and can easily use one another’s licenses). Once the list was completed, the room returned to its earlier, more unruly atmosphere, and the following rolling set of comments were made:

DRIVER: This issue of using the meter is really affecting us. The Irish drivers are also claiming that we are ripping people off, but the meter is legal, local price is not.

YINKA: I have already told the Mayor that black drivers are trying to be compliant with the law; there is no dignity left in this profession for Africans. We need to address all these lies. Irish people have had it too easy for too long, and this issue of queue jumping really needs to be sorted out.

[ANOTHER DRIVER INTERJECTS]: The issue of the Gardai needs to be addressed, whenever you call them, they don’t do their job effectively. But we can’t prove this. They are constantly targeting us, asking us to move. We need to make them understand what we are going through. The Irish welcome people from the US and Europe, why are they like this to us?

[ANOTHER DRIVER INTERJECTS]: People are constantly sticking their fingers up at me and calling me a black monkey.

[Agitated murmurs spread across the room]

YINKA: Name-calling does not mean anything: the real issue is the question of queue jumping.

The meeting proceeded with an attempt to identify and enumerate the African drivers operating in the region (thirty-seven names were mentioned³) with the aim of contacting them and encouraging them to act. The idea of forming an African taxi drivers’ association was also mooted as was a suggestion to march through the town to raise awareness. One commentator agreed and hoped that a form of migrant consciousness might emerge among Irish people; after all, ‘They themselves are plenty fighting for their papers in America and Australia.’ This hope was dashed by another driver who painted a picture of the march that further sharpened the already racialised lines drawn through Drogheda. Yinka again made an effort to summarise and capture the sentiments: ‘What we want is to live in this town peacefully, get them to stop calling us names, stop making it impossible for us to work,’ she said.

Towards the end of the meeting those present revisited the incidents that sparked the radio show controversy and anchored the issues in the broader problem of the daily abuse visited on African taxi drivers. One driver demanded that the group carefully challenge all the allegations made against them and wondered whether there was any actual evidence of complaints. Another driver pointed out that many of his passengers had already asked him about the allegations made during the LMFM programmes, and the room boiled over with anger once more. It seemed that the discussion had gone full circle, and the meeting ended with promises of future action before everyone bowed their heads in prayer.

Here we take the dispute captured by the LMFM radio programmes as a starting point and aim to explore the taxi industry as a site of labour integration in Ireland. We wish to explore the ways in which former asylum seekers and other immigrants, especially from African countries, engage with this industry and in so doing negotiate in their everyday lives the tensions between economic and social mobility, racis...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of figures
• Acknowledgements
• Series editor’s foreword
• Introduction
• 1 Taxis, deregulation and racism in Irish border towns
• 2 Inside the politics machine
• 3 Enchanting Ireland
• 4 Hallelujah Halloween
• 5 Miss Nigeria, and emergent forms of life
• 6 Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index